iMac 2018: what we want to see

The iMac could do with a refresh – shortly after the iMac 2017 released with a 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processor, the chip manufacturer launched its 8th-generation Coffee Lake processors. So, the iMac is currently one generation behind the competition when it comes to hardware, but we think the iMac 2018 is going to level the playing field.

Following the surprise announcement for the MacBook Pro 2018, we may see the same happen with the iMac 2018. We’ve seen speculation from famed Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo suggesting that the iMac 2018 will be one of the Macs released by Apple – alongside the Mac Mini 2018.

Keep in mind that the iMac 20th anniversary passed us in March. So, we’re holding out hope that Apple will want to celebrate this benchmark in some commercially available way – we think a special anniversary iMac 2018 will be announced later this year.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Apple has kept us in the dark about the new iMac. However, we can still speculate about what we’re going to see whenever Apple does announce the iMac 2018. Until an official announcement comes along, we’ve gathered up all the rumors and speculation in one place, and we’ll keep it updated – so make sure you bookmark this page.

Cut to the chase

What is it? A new version of Apple’s all-in-one iMac
When is it out? Between October and November 2018
What will it cost? Likely starts at $1,099 (£1,049, AU$1,599)

iMac 2018 release date

Because we still don’t have any concrete iMac 2018 information, we think it’s time to look to the past to gain some insight into the future.

The iMac 2017 update was revealed on June 5, 2017 at Apple’s WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) keynote. However, we missed the iMac 2018 at WWDC 2018. In fact, we didn’t see any hardware at all. Same goes for the iPhone XS event – no Mac hardware. This makes us believe Apple will hold a special Mac presentation, likely in October or November.

Whenever the announcement happens, we think the iMac 2018 will, in fact, release some time this year. We’ve already seen plenty of speculation that a MacBook 2018 is incoming – we just hope the iMac 2018 isn’t far behind.

iMac 2018

iMac 2018 price

Again, there’s not much to go on right now concerning what the price of a 2018 iMac might be. Hopefully, the price won’t stray too much from last year’s models, unless there is going to be some seriously large upgrades when it comes to components.

The base price of last year’s iMac is $1,099 (£1,049, AU$1,599), so we’d like to see a similar price with the iMac 2018. Of course, the iMac comes in various configurations (and prices) to suit your needs.

However, recent shortages, especially in Intel’s processors, may lead to an increase in manufacturing costs that Apple will likely pass on to the consumer.

With the high-end iMac Pro starting at $4,999 (£4,899, AU$7,299), we can envision an iMac 2018 costing between $1,000 (£1,000, AU$1,500) and $2,500 (£2,000, AU$3,000).

iMac 2018: what we want to see

While we don’t know much of anything about the iMac 2018 , we still have plenty of ideas about what we’d like to see in a new version of the all-in-one. Read on for your wish list of what we want to see out of the iMac 2018.

iMac 2018

Celebrate the 20th anniversary in style

For any gadget, 20 years in the business is a big deal, so we’d love to see Apple do something special to mark the anniversary for this year’s iMac.

Apple have released special versions of its hardware to mark milestones before, such as the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, which was released in 1997 to mark Apple’s 20th birthday. Not to mention the release of the iPhone X to mark the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone.

With the iMac being so beloved, and its design so iconic, a special version of the iMac 2018 that paid tribute to its past could be a big hit with Apple fans and collectors.

A revamped design

While we love the look of the iMac, it’s sort of had the same design for the past 10 years, so 2018 could be a great year to tweak the look. That could mean a minor revision, such as slimming the body even further, or something more drastic.

Rumors of an iMac redesign have been swirling since a post on Reddit, apparently by a ‘Foxconn Insider’ who worked for the company that builds the devices for Apple, claimed there would be an update to the iMac and its peripherals.

Color-wise, the aluminum design of the iMac has been a staple since 2007, so we wouldn’t mind seeing another color option with the iMac 2018 – perhaps a Space Gray version, like the iMac Pro?

iMac 2018

Take inspiration from the iMac Pro

The iMac Pro is a fantastic device, and while it is definitely a product aimed at a completely different audience than the iMac 2018 will be, there are a few things the standard iMac could incorporate from its more expensive sibling.

We’d love to see the iMac 2018 ditch the hard drive, and instead stick with solid state drives – this would allow Apple to make it even slimmer, while giving it a huge speed boost. Even better for photographers and filmmakers is if Apple allowed UHS-II SD card support, thereby streamlining the post-production process.

The iMac Pro also features some clever cooling technology to help reduce the heat of the components, again allowing for a thinner design without noisy fans, and we’d love to see that in the iMac 2018 as well.

Oh, and did we mention we’d really like to see a Space Gray iMac?

iMac 2018

Take inspiration from the MacBook and iPhone

Whilst we’re getting ideas from other Apple devices, there’s a few things we’d like to see from the iPhone and MacBook appear in the iMac 2018.

For example, how cool would it be if the Touch Bar from certain MacBooks turned up on a redesigned iMac keyboard? Those touch-sensitive buttons would be a fantastic addition.

Also, we’ve been very impressed by the Face ID technology of the iPhone X, so if Apple is thinking of upgrading the FaceTime camera on the iMac 2018, we’d love to see this included, so we could unlock our new iMac with just a glance.

Boosted specs

We’d love to see the iMac 2018 toting some of the very latest, and best, components when it’s revealed to the world.

Ideally, Apple will shove the latest Coffee Lake Refresh CPUs into the iMac 2018, so that Apple fans could have access to the 8-core chips that PC users have enjoyed for a while. But, even if Apple is more conservative, and sticks with 8th-generation Coffee Lake chips, the iMac 2018 stands to get a huge performance boost over last year’s model.

The processing probably won’t be ending with a six-core CPU, either. Three of the Macs that Apple is rumored to be releasing this year will supposedly offload some functionality to Cupertino-crafted silicon. This will probably amount to ‘Hey Siri’ commands, like they do on the iMac Pro, but Apple could do something crazy here.

This second processor is likely part of Apple’s rumored ‘Kalamata Initiative’, which will see the Cupertino giant replace all Intel processors with its own by 2020. This is a huge ordeal, to be sure, but Apple seems to be well on the way working on its own chips in a super-secret lab.

Graphics-wise, the iMac could stick with AMD’s Vega graphics cards, and if Apple goes for one of the latest AMD card, or even one that has yet to be released, then the iMac 2018 could have some serious graphical chops.

Fingers crossed we see some – or all – of these predictions come to fruition later this year.